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Israeli missing teenagers funeral preparations underway

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to make Hamas pay for the killing of the three teenagers near the West Bank

Wednesday 02 July 2014 10:25 BST

Israelis mourns and light candles in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv after the announce that the bodies of the three missing Israeli teenagers were found. Israel confirmed finding the bodies of three teenagers who disappeared in the southern West Bank, blaming t

Israel is preparing to bury the three teenagers who were kidnapped and killed while hitch-hiking near the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for the killing of the three teenagers- Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old Israeli-American citizen- and will attend the joint funeral at Modein cemetery, near Tel Aviv

Overnight Israel launched more than 34 air strikes on the Gaza Strip with Mr Netanyahu vowing to make "Hamas pay" after the bodies were found. The strikes followed around 18 rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza since Sunday night, according to the Israeli military.

The teenagers disappeared on 12 June while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank.

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

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1/23In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

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Relatives and friends gather around a grave, as Gilad Shaer, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Eyal Ifrach, 19, are buried side-by-side in the central Israeli town of Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Tens of thousands Israelis attend the joint funeral of Gilad Shaer, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Eyal Ifrach, 19, in the central Israeli town of Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) eulogizes three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the occupied West Bank, Gil-Ad Shaer, US-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, during their joint funeral in the Israeli city of Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Avi (C) and Rachel (R) Frenkel and their son (L), hold a reading close to the body of their son Naftali Frenkel, 16, (unseen) during his funeral service in the Jewish settlement of Nof Ayalon, in the Israeli occupied West Bank

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

A makeshift memorial site is constructed in memory of the three Israeli teenagers found dead, in Halhul, West Bank

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

A man attends the funeral ceremony held for the three Israeli teenagers found dead in Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

People attend the funeral of the three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the West Bank, during their joint funeral in the Israeli city of Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

A Jewish woman prays during the joint funeral of the three Israeli teens who were abducted and killed in the occupied West Bank, in the Israeli city of Modiin

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

The parents and other family members of Naftali Frankel, one of the three Israeli teens found dead, attend his funeral service in Nof Ayalon, Israel

EPA

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Avi and Rachel Fraenkel attend the funeral of their son, Naftali, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, in their town of Nof Ayalon

EPA

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Parents of Gilad Shaer stand next to their son's body during his funeral ceremony at his hometown Talmon Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Ramallah

Getty Images

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Tens of thousands Israelis attend the joint funeral of Gilad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Ifrach, in the central Israeli town of Modiin

Getty Images

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Mourners and relatives of Israeli teenager Eyal Ifrach attend his funeral outside his house, in the city of Elad

Getty Images

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Friends and family grieve during the funeral ceremony of Gilad Shaer

Getty Images

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Avi and Rachel Fraenkel embrace during the funeral of their son, Naftali, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Nof Ayalon

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

The body of 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel, covered in an Israeli flag, is carried to an ambulance after his funeral service in his hometown in Nof Ayalon

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Ofir, the father of Gilad Shaer, 16, hugs a mourner as they stand in front of his son's body during a funeral service at his hometown, the Talmon Jewish settlement, near the West Bank city of Ramallah

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Friends of 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel, crying at his funeral service in his hometown of Nof Ayalon

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Women cry during the eulogy ceremony for Eyal Yifrach, one of the three Israeli teens found dead, before his funeral at the synagogue in city of Elad

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Mourners, and relatives of Israeli teenager Eyal Ifrach, one of the three students abducted and then shot dead, attend his funeral outside his house, in the city of Elad in central Israel

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Israelis mourns and light candles in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv after the announce that the bodies of the three missing Israeli teenagers were found

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Israelis mourns and light candles in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv after the announce that the bodies of the three missing Israeli teenagers were found. Israel confirmed finding the bodies of three teenagers who disappeared in the southern West Bank, blaming the Islamist Hamas movement for their kidnapping and murder

In pictures: Israel reacts to deaths of kidnapped teenagers

Israel

Israelis march on the road near where three missing teenagers were abducted, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Alon Shvut

In an operation codenamed Brother's Keeper, Israel dispatched thousands of troops across the West Bank in search of the youths. Their bodies were found on Monday under a pile of rocks in a field north of Hebron.

Reacting to Mr Netanyahu's words, Hamas warned Israel against any broad offensive on the territory, adding: "Threats don't scare Hamas, and if he (Netanyahu) wages a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open on him."

In Washington, president Barack Obama sent his "deepest and heartfelt condolences" to the families. "As a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing," he said. Yet he urged "all parties" to refrain from steps that could further destabilise the situation.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon issued a similar condemnation of the "heinous crime", but also urged the sides to "refrain from any actions that could further escalate this highly tense situation"

Additional reporting PA

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